Yes, there will be several new characters, with Wario, Pit (Kid Icarus), Metaknight (Kirby), Zero Suit Samus (Metroid: Zero Mission) and Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid) confirmed in the trailer.

It is believed more new characters will be added, possibly as unlockable in-game treats.

Is it true Solid Snake will be in Brawl?

Yes, The Metal Gear Solid character ‘Snake’ will be a playable character in SSBB.

"We thought a lot about what to do with Snake and his moves in Super Smash Bros. Brawl," said Sakurai. "As you all know Snake walks around with a gun, but with Super Smash Bros. I didn't want to bring in a lot of real weapons. So that was a real challenge. But conversely, if we could use things like rocket launchers and other explosives, not only would that be fitting for Snake, but it would work for the other characters. But who knows. Maybe Snake will exclusively use explosives throughout the game."

Sakurai said the decision to include Solid Snake when Hideo Kojima himself practically "begged" to include the Metal Gear character in the last Smash Bros. game.

Will Sonic be a playable character?

Currently it is not known whether Sonic will play a part in SSBB. Although with the inclusion of some Sega titles both on the Wii and Virtual Console it certainly isn’t out of the question.

Miyamoto is very aware that fans want Sonic in the title, and he agrees that it would be a great idea. Unfortunately, according to Miyamoto, Sega has not gotten in touch with Nintendo as far as Sonic in Brawl is concerned.

When asked about the possibility of Sonic the Hedgehog appearing in the game as well, Shigeru Miyamoto said: "There are probably possibilities for other third parties as well, and it may be that even now there are corporate discussions going on about including some of these other characters."

Will Super Smash Bros. Brawl support Nintendo Wi-Fi?

Yes, SSBB will have online capabilities.

The game will be fully online playable in addition to featuring a robust multiplayer mode. "My plan is to include Wi-Fi connection compatibility and online functionality. One of the primary reasons Super Smash Bros. Brawl was created was that Nintendo, when taking Wii online, wanted to have Smash Bros. to do that," added Sakurai.

Will there be an official online ranking system?

However, according to Nintendo, there's a very good chance that a traditional online ranking system will not be implemented. Smash Brothers has always been about having fun, and an online ranking system would take away from that.

Will the game use the Wiimote’s motion sensitivity?

Super Smash Bros. Brawl will not use the Wiimote features. Instead it will be designed for the Gamecube controller and possibly the classic pad.

"We found that trying to implement too much motion-sensory functionality can get in the way of the game. We're looking at keeping the control simple, as it has been," said Sakurai.

"The Wii hardware has sockets for the GameCube controller, too. So I'll just say now that you may not want to throw away your GCN controller yet."
How many stages will SSBB have?

After close inspection of the SSBB trailers and little footage there is, we have worked out five stages to date.